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At $1.21 a minute it is one of the most expensive attractions
Sydney has to offer. But the owners of the $6 million Skywalk
believe the view is worth it.

From today tourist will be able to take an open-air stroll 260
metres up on a glass-bottomed platform circling Sydney Tower.

The walk is in direct competition with the Harbour Bridge climb,
but James Fulford, the chief executive of the Skywalk's operator,
Sydney Aquarium Group, said that the $109 cost of a ticket would
not deter visitors.

"It's an experience you don't measure by the minute; it's an
experience you never forget. People stand on these glass blades,
which over-hang the top of the tower, and look between their feet
and see people walking on the street below," Mr Fulford said.

"It's the highest view point of the best view in the world. You
can see for 80 kilometres on a good day. You can see to the Blue
Mountains, out into the ocean, north to Ku-ring-gai National Park
and south to the Royal National Park. You can see the whole of the
Sydney Basin."

The Skywalk, which took four years to design and two months to
build, using more than 2000 sections of steel and 4376 nuts and
bolts, is one of a growing number of expensive thrills on offer in
Sydney.

Like the bridge climb, visitors to the Skywalk are tethered to
railings while outside and must wear protective suits and
harnesses. They are guided around in groups of 15, and the whole
experience lasts 90 minutes, only 40 of which are spent on the
platform.

Mr Fulford said that he expected 60,000 people to visit the
attraction in the next 12 months, 50 per cent of them from
overseas.

Although the Skywalk will be competing for the same tourist
dollars, the operators of the bridge climb welcomed its arrival.
"Anything that brings tourists into the city would have to be good
for Sydney," said Christopher Gough, a spokesman for
BridgeClimb.

BridgeClimb charges $165 to $295 for its 3½-hour tour,
about a half of which is spent on the climb. More than 1.5 million
people have scaled the bridge since the attraction opened in 1998,
more than half of them overseas visitors.